Amenable species is a term used within the context of USDA’s meat and poultry inspection program to signify exotic species (livestock and fowl not covered by the statutes) that might be added to the laws and thus be eligible for mandatory federal inspection, which is taxpayer-funded. An exotic species is considered an amenable species if its anatomy and biology are substantially the same as the animals currently inspected. The Poultry Products Inspection Act (P.L. 85-172, as amended; 21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) was expanded in 2001 to cover ostrich

Ostrich

The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...

, rhea

Rhea (bird)

The rheas are ratites in the genus Rhea, native to South America. There are two existing species: the Greater or American Rhea and the Lesser or Darwin's Rhea. The genus name was given in 1752 by Paul Möhring and adopted as the English common name. Möhring's reason for choosing this name, from the...

, and emu

Emu

The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...

 (ratite

Ratite

A ratite is any of a diverse group of large, flightless birds of Gondwanan origin, most of them now extinct. Unlike other flightless birds, the ratites have no keel on their sternum—hence the name from the Latin ratis...

s) because USDA determined that the hazards they present to food safety are essentially the same as those posed by chickens, turkeys, ducks, etc., and the existing contamination detection and prevention systems are sufficient to control them. Buffalo

American Bison

The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...

 have been considered for inclusion under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) because they are bovine species (like cattle). Deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

 and elk

Elk

The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...

, on the other hand, are cervids, and pose hazards for food safety that are not yet fully known or controlled for under the existing meat inspection system. The term non-amenable sometimes is used to describe cervids and certain other exotics, like rabbits, for example.